How To's

New Home/New to Oil Heat?

First, congratulations on your new home! Whether this is your first house or you’re a seasoned homeowner, this is an exciting time for you. If your new house has an oil furnace or a boiler, here are some important things to know:

Heating oil is one of the most cost-effective, efficient ways to heat your home.

Oil heat systems are safe and non-explosive.

The best way to keep your heating system running at peak efficiency is to have it cleaned and serviced annually. When you become a DollarWise customer, you can sign up for a service contract that will cover this important yearly appointment.

Don’t want to have to remember your oil delivery every month? It’s easy to make sure that you don’t run out of oil when you sign up for worry-free automatic delivery with our partner company, Hop Energy. With the HOP Energy automated delivery service, we use computer software to monitor your heating oil usage along with the weather to determine when your next delivery should be scheduled.

No Heat Checklist

  • Check your thermostat to make sure it’s set high enough to call for heat.
  • Make sure you have oil in your tank.
  • Locate the emergency shutoff switch, usually located near the basement steps or next to your heating system. Make sure the switch is in the "ON" position.
  • Sometimes a simple system reset is all that’s needed. Locate your heating system’s burner and press the red reset button ONCE (and only ONCE) and listen for the system to start up.
  • Check for any blown fuses or tripped circuit breakers in your electrical supply panel. A breaker switch is tripped if it is moved slightly from the ON position.
  • Remember, you can call us anytime day or night if you have an emergency at 877-645-9473. We’re happy to troubleshoot the problem for you and get your system back up and running

Preventing Oil Leaks

Oil leaks are very costly. Did you know that most oil leaks occur at the copper oil supply line. What to watch out for and avoid:

  • Cement reacting with bare copper oil lines, causing corrosion (green areas/flakes) and potential for breakage.
  • Compression fittings have been used to build your system--these are built for water, not oil. Oil pressure can cause these to leak.
  • Oil line should have a protective sleeve. Unprotected oil lines may be subject to accidental rupture.
  • Oil line is unprotected and concealed by concrete, therefore cannot be inspected for corrosion or leaks.

If you do note any of the above, we recommend that you repair/replace your oil line at this time. Call us at 877-645-9473 to schedule this service.

Have an outside oil tank? Worried about a frozen oil line? One solution is installing a heated pump for your tank

Have you had an issue with your oil line freezing? This is the result of extreme cold and windy weather. During these conditions home heating oil gels, the viscosity of the oil changes, resulting in a no-flow/no-heat situation. Clearing the frozen oil line and filter to produce heat can be costly and potentially dangerous, and is not usually covered under a service plan.

A great preventative:
This efficient, low-voltage heater sits on top of your tank. New technology means that this heater actually heats the oil as it flows through the draw tube, before it gets to your heating system. This device turns on and off automatically based on the temperature. When oil isn’t being pumped it gives you the added protection of also heating the oil inside your tank.

To learn more, or to schedule an installation of a heated pump, call us at: 877-645-9473

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